Envisioning A United Community: Silver Beach Carousel
Re-opening Of Amusement Park Restores Happiness Within St. Joseph Along With Added Attractions To Bring More Tourists To The Area
Downtown St. Joseph, Michigan, sits on a high bluff overlooking the shores of Lake Michigan. The area below the bluff has special meaning to the surrounding. Today, it is the location of a spectacular, handcrafted carousel, which, by the fall of this year, will have welcomed its one millionth tokened rider.
Three hundred volunteers who put in over eighteen hundred collective hours of service helped to make that possible. For many of the volunteers, working at the carousel is a nostalgic practice, reminding them of a time when the beach was alive with the sights and sounds of Silver Beach Amusement Park.
Silver Beach Amusement Park opened on the beach in St. Joseph in 1891. What began as a pavilion and a roller coaster expanded to include a roller rink, pipe organ, and dance hall. A carousel was added in 1916.
“My grandma would take me,” Marcia Schalon, now a major donor to the Silver Beach Carousel Society, remembers. “We’d pack a lunch and eat in the pavilion. Because I couldn’t waste [my] money for eating--I’d rather go on a ride or in the fun house. It was a real treat.”
“[Silver Beach Amusement Park] was in operation until the mid-1970s or so,” explains Katie White, Marketing Liaison to the board of the Silver Beach Carousel Society. “There were roller coasters, a Ferris wheel, and a boardwalk with all kinds of games all along the shore there. It was the kind of the place that everyone would flock to during the summertime.”
The amusement park was a vital part of the community in St. Joseph. Though over time, the costs of operation and maintenance became burdensome, and in 1971, the park close their doors.
“When [the amusement park] closed, it made a lot of people very sad, because they had a lot of childhood memories here,” White explains. “They’d come down here for their picnics, family vacations, or they were out of school so they’d go down and pay a couple of bucks and stay all day long. The land was eventually turned into Silver Park Beach, where the amusement park originally was. Then there was all this land down there that wasn't really being utilized.”
In 1997, the Silver Beach Carousel Society was established. Their goal was to bring the original carousel back to the beach at St. Joseph.
White continues, “[The carousel] was sitting in storage in an individual’s house who had bought it at auction when the amusement park closed. [The Society] started working on raising the money privately to bring back the carousel. Things went very well, they were just about to the point where they could buy it and it was sold to a city in Washington State.”
With the original carousel no longer a possibility, the group took another look at their options. They decided they would create a new carousel instead.
“They worked with Carousel Works out of Ohio on creating a new machine, and as part of that they recognized how much something like this could change the landscape of the community,” White said.
The idea to bring back the carousel eventually evolved into a strong and lasting collaboration between the city and local, private corporations and individuals.
Between the Society, the city, and local donors, the group knew that they wanted to preserve the land below the bluff for public use and create something there that would have a lasting impact on the community. In addition to the carousel, they knew they would need attractions that would bring in visitors year-round and also help to bolster the local retail and restaurant community in downtown St. Joseph.
“They came up with the idea of Silver Beach Center and the Whirlpool Compass Fountain,” White explains. “In addition to the carousel--they recognized that people could come and spend a couple of minutes at the Carousel and then leave--they created a place where you could come and spend all day with your family. The Curious Kids Discovery Zone was created, along with the Shadowland Ballroom, which is a place for weddings…. And across the street is the Compass Fountain, which is open from May to October. It’s a splash pad that kids can play in. It’s a cool place where you want to stay a while and make a day out of it.”
The Silver Beach Center and the Whirlpool Compass Fountain opened for business on January 2, 2010. Seven years later, they’re close to welcoming their one millionth tokened rider, not to mention the thousands of people that have passed through the Discovery Zone, ballroom, and fountain.
The collaboration between public and private organizations that made the Center possible is still in place: the land is owned by the City of St. Joseph; the carousel is owned by the Silver Beach Carousel Society; and the building that houses everything is operated by Shadowlands.
Though the carousel is now located about a block from the beach--a slightly different location than the original--the community impact has been immense. Local businesses have seen their profits rise, the center welcomes people year round, and the carousel is helping to preserve memories for people who grew up visiting the amusement park.
And what a special memory it will be for that lucky, unsuspecting rider who purchases their token and becomes number one million in a long legacy of riders who have and will enjoy the Silver Beach Carousel for generations to come.
Kailyn Clay
A graduate of Trinity Christian College with degrees in English and Political Science, Kailyn has written for GEMS Girls’ Clubs, Spark Hire, The Grand Haven Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, and other sources. She enjoys reading, writing, and camping.
Make Sure To Stay At:
Mini Mountain Campground, which offers a full range of camping facilities, including full hookup sites with water, electricity and sewer for $35 per night. Limited hookup sites is $30/night. Primitive camping sites, for tents, priced at $25 per night.